Clinical Education is a significant and critical component of the professional physical therapy curriculum.  The physical therapy program at Wayne State University affiliates with over 170 carefully selected clinical sites, including many within the major health care systems located in Southeastern Michigan.

Students in the physical therapy program are involved in primary types of clinical education experiences:

Integrated Clinical Education Experiences

The integrated clinical education experiences are designed to complement classroom learning with concurrent clinical practice.  Two courses, PT 5010 and PT 5070:  Clinical Applications 1 and 2, are scheduled during the third semester of the first professional year and the first semester of the second professional year. 

Students participate in the clinical experience two 1/2-days per week throughout the semester.  These early clinical experiences allow the student to become socialized in the role of a physical therapist and to practice clinical skills as they are being learned.

Second Professional Year Clinical Education Rotations

Student physical therapists participate in three 4-week full time clinical education rotations during the Spring/Summer Term following the second professional year.  These rotations provide the students with a breadth of clinical experiences in a variety of settings with a variety of patient or client populations. 

Final Clinical Internships

The Doctor of Physical Therapy curriculum concludes with two 14-week full time clinical internships.  These final clinical experiences provide a depth of education that completes the student's preparation to become a licensed physical therapist practitioner. 

At the completion of these clinical internships the student has completed a clinical education program which emphasizes both depth and breadth of clinical experience.   During the full time clinical education experiences the student is required to practice in three specific settings:  1) inpatient rehabilitation, 2) acute care and 3) outpatient orthopedics as well as to garner experience in examining and treating patients with musculoskeletal, neuromuscular,  cardiovascular-pulmonary and integumentary conditions.  Students can determine the emphasis of the other full time clinical education experiences to pursue and area of interest or to explore an area of practice.